“For months, the American Heart Association has been pressing federal lawmakers to reverse the enormously destructive sequester cuts imposed on the National Institutes of Health. We were disappointed to find out that the new omnibus budget bill does not fully restore these funds.

As a result, the treatments and cures many Americans so desperately need are likely to be delayed – perhaps indefinitely. These cuts have and will continue to pose a serious threat to the extraordinary progress we have made in the fight against heart disease and stroke. We strongly urge Congress to stop placing promising research at risk and increase federal support for the NIH.”